All-round performance sees Telugu Titans best Puneri Paltan

An all-round show by Telugu Titans helped them record a close 28-25 victory over Puneri Paltan on Tuesday at the NSCI Indoor Stadium in Mumbai. Rahul Chaudhari managed eight raid points while stand-in Left Corner Krushna Madane performed admirably in the absence of captain Vishal Bhardwaj, helping himself to four tackle points on the night.

Telugu Titans started the game on a high as they raced to a 5-1 lead in the fifth minute. Puneri Paltan then came up with their famed Super Tackles as Akshay Jadhav first got a double Ankle Hold on Chaudhari to reduce the deficit to one point before Sandeep Narwal’s Ankle Hold on Mohsen Maghsoudloujafari leveled the scores at 6-6 in the 10^th minute.

Check out the photos from the match here.

Telugu Titans however continued to stay on the attack and starved Puneri Paltan of points. A touch by Chaudhari on Girish Maruti Ernak reduced Puneri Paltan to a solitary player on the mat before a Madane block on Narwal helped Telugu Titans inflict the first All-Out of the game in the 12^th minute with Telugu Titans leading 11-7.

Nilesh Salunke used the Dubki to good effect as he got touches on Ernak and Vinod Kumar to put Telugu Titans up by six before Deepak Kumar Dahiya got the first touch point of the match for Puneri Paltan in the 14^th minute with a touch on Anil Kumar. An act of brilliance by Chaudhari off a Do-or-Die raid helped him get two points as he stretched his leg over the midline to get rid of Monu and Ernak. Trailing by eight points, Puneri Paltan ended the half on a high as a Double Thigh Hold by Narwal on Salunke on the last raid of the half helped Puneri Paltan inflict their third Super Tackle of the game.

The second half started with both teams playing on the Do-or-Die raids. A Double Thigh-Hold by stand-in captain Abozar Mohajermighani on Narwal off a Do-or-Die raid reduced Puneri Paltan to a single player on the mat before Chaudhari inflicted the second All-Out on Puneri Paltan in the 4^th minute with a touch on Ravi Kumar; Telugu Titans leading 22-12.

The teams continued playing on Do-or-Die raids as both kept on exchanging points with Telugu Titans steadily increasing their lead to 12 points. Puneri Paltan got their second touch point of the match in the 10^th minute as Monu got rid of Madane, reducing the deficit to 11.

Visit the matchcentre to relive the contest here.

Puneri Paltan went about reducing the deficit and got it down to seven points before an Ankle Hold by Jadhav on Rakshith reduced Telugu Titans to a solitary player on the mat. Mohajermighani gifted the All-Out to Puneri Paltan in dramatic fashion as he stepped out of the playing area to help Puneri Paltan reduce the deficit to 3 points heading into the final minute. Puneri Paltan however couldn’t make the most out of reducing the deficit and had to settle for one point as a touch by Chaudhari on Narwal gave Telugu Titans a 28-25 win.

Top Performers

Puneri Paltan

Top Raider - Monu (5 raid points)

Top Defender - Sandeep Narwal (4 tackle points)

Telugu Titans

Top Raider - Rahul Chaudhari (8 raid points)

Top Defender - Krushna Madane (4 tackle points)